Community Leadership and Advocacy

Professional Leadership

Robert L. Parks and Gabrielle Lyn D'Alemberte are true leaders in the legal profession on a local, state and national level.

Parks is a fellow, former president, vice president and secretary of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. Among his many accomplishments in that role, he expanded the group's "Rule of Law" program to develop contacts between lawyers in the United States and their counterparts in China and Vietnam. He also worked with the National Judicial College to train state court judges in the United States.

In 2000, Parks was a co-presider at a unique gathering of the nation's top legal organizations in Washington at the National Press Club as the group issued a White Paper aimed at improving the U.S. civil justice system in the 21st century.

Parks is also a fellow of the American Board of Trial Advocacy, a fellow of the International Society of Barristers, and a member of the American Law Institute. He was also appointed by the Florida Bar to the Florida Supreme Court Commission of Professionalism. Parks is also a member of the Lawyer Pilots Bar Association, the International Society of Air Safety Investigators, and co-author of two chapters in Kreindler's Aviation Accident Law for Matthew Bender & Company, Inc., on "Military Accidents" and "Air Traffic Control Negligence."

A leader in the state's legal profession, D'Alemberte served on the Florida Bar's Judicial Evaluation Committee, which focuses on reform in the judicial system, particularly merit retention. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association and its liaison to the Third District Court of Appeals.

Her recent publications include Government Regulation of E-Business Web Sites: A Legal Perspective, Portland, July 2001; and Florida Procedures after Dissolution of Marriage, Chapter Seven, 5th Edition, 2000, CLE Publications.

Personal Advocacy

In her leadership role with the Florida Justice Association, Gabrielle Lyn D'Alemberte is actively involved in the association's 2008 and 2010 election cycle advocacy program, lobbying in Tallahassee on caps in personal injury cases, access to courts and consumer protection laws, and other issues that affect the rights of Floridians.

D'Alemberte received the Florida Supreme Court Pro Bono Award for her work with the Legal Aid Foundation of Tallahassee and was recognized by the Neighborhood Justice Center for her contributions as a volunteer mediator.

Throughout his career, Robert L. Parks has sought to improve air safety standards through new legislation and education. He served as chairman of the American Bar Association's Forum on Air and Space Law from 1990-92. In 1996, he was named chairman of the Florida Bar's first Bar-sanctioned certification program in aviation law. He also served as a member of the National Transportation Safety Board Association.

Community Service

For more than two decades, Robert L. Parks has been a volunteer leader on behalf of the Miami River, one of South Florida's most important waterways. As chairman of the Miami River Commission, he successfully advocated a major dredging and environmental clean-up project, and built consensus for shared residential and commercial uses along the 5-mile navigable portion of the river.

Both Parks and D'Alemberte are active in a number of community service organizations focusing on youth, the environment, education and healthcare, including:

Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami

Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami's programs promote the development of young people by instilling a sense of competence, a sense of usefulness, a sense of belonging and a sense of power or influence.
http://www.bgcmia.org

Everglades Foundation

The Everglades Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit, charitable organization dedicated to advancing an understanding of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and its irreplaceable environmental and economic value.
http://www.evergladesfoundation.org/ and http://saveoureverglades.org/everglades.php

Junior League of Miami

Members of the Junior League of Miami volunteer their time and provide seed funding for community projects. Since the JLM's founding in 1926, more than $2.5 million has been awarded to programs throughout the community.
http://www.jlmiami.org/projects-current.php

Miami River Commission

The Miami River Commission acts as the official coordinating clearinghouse for all public policy and projects related to the Miami River, develops coordinated plans to substantially improve the river area, acts as the principal advocate and watchdog for river projects, and unites governmental agencies, businesses, and area residents on river issues.
http://www.miamirivercommission.org/